It’s as if I just can’t get enough of this franchise! Just the other night, I finally finished up what I assume is the last season of MTV’s Scream television series. Truthfully, this review was a long time coming considering the six episodes premiered two at a time over the summer, but I was just watching other things, you know? I was also a little skeptical because they totally recast and then sat on releasing the episodes for the better part of two years.
Anyways, we’re introduced to a new rag-tag group of kids who are all brought together Breakfast Club style in detention when they learn there’s a killer after them! Some peripheral characters die before Ghostface really starts hacking away at our core group. First up is out and proud, Manny, who gets stab and then burned almost alive in his car. Next up is nerdy Amir, who does get a look at who’s behind the mask before passing on into the next life.
The real focus of Ghostface’s rage belongs to Dieon, star quarterback, who’s had his own share of trauma. Back when he was a kid, he had a twin brother who he left for dead in a junkyard. He keeps hinting at a secret he’s been harboring, but never peeps a word of it to anyone until it’s basically too late.
For a short time we’re led to believe the killer is Dieon’s love interest, Liv, who does have some pretty sketchy behavior, like a secret drawer holding a secret cell phone, and never really being around when the gang is being killed. Sarcastic and snappy Kym is the only one who really is in the clear, and it seems she has no baggage. I’m convinced this was just an excuse to show off Keke Palmer and all her acting prowess.
We ultimately learn that Dieon is actually his twin brother Marcus, and that the killer is not one but two people! The first of which is Dieon’s step brother, Jay, but he’s really just a pawn of the goth Breakfast Club member, Beth. When she finally gets the opportunity to kill Dieon and Liv, she admits that she knows she’s a sociopath, and Jay just gave her the perfect excuse to start killing people. Obviously, she gets hers, and the remaining survivors live happily ever after (with another phone call lurking, of course).
Truthfully, this was truly cringy television, but not a total waste of my time. Maybe it’s because they waited so long to release it, or maybe it’s because Wes Craven had nothing to do with this iteration since he passed away before they started filming, but either way, I could have maybe done without. I realize the first two seasons were probably just as awkward as this one, but at least the cast carried over. Why make something an anthology if it didn’t start that way? Totally skip it! There’s way better programming to spend your time watching.